Auburn Tigers vs Georgia Bulldogs Prediction – Pickswise

Saturday’s college hoops slate features a number of compelling games, but one that may be flying a little under the radar comes in the SEC, where the top-ranked Auburn Tigers will take on the Georgia Bulldogs in what should be a great contest in Athens. Auburn suffered a potentially season-changing loss when Johni Broome injured his ankle against South Carolina last week. However, it has since been revealed that Broome is expected to return before the post-season, which is obviously massive for a Tigers team with National Championship aspirations. And while Auburn looked great in its win over Mississippi State earlier this week, I think Saturday’s matchup against a long and athletic Georgia frontcourt will ultimately show what the Tigers are missing without Broome in the lineup.

Few teams have improved more than Georgia from season to season. The Bulldogs look like an NCAA Tournament team after a middling campaign a year ago, and that starts with freshman phenom Asa Newell and this Georgia frontcourt. The Bulldogs are one of the biggest teams in the nation and Mike White’s group excels at exploiting their size. Georgia ranks 2nd nationally in second-chance conversion percentage, thanks to its elite offensive rebounding ability (11th in offensive rebounding percentage, per Barttorvik). That spells trouble for Auburn, as the Tigers defense struggles in that area, ranking 190th in defensive rebounding, and that’s even factoring in what Broome gives them on the glass (10.7 rebounds per game). Georgia should be able to thrive by creating second-chance points, and this could be a bit of a sluggish spot for Auburn after a maximum effort in the first game without Broome. The Bulldogs are also shooting just 22% from beyond the 3-point arc in SEC play, so one could argue that Georgia is “due” to experience a bit of positive shooting regression at home in this spot. Finally, Auburn is a great team, but the Tigers are just 2-1 on the season, with a loss to Duke and narrow wins against Texas and South Carolina. Let’s also take the Bulldogs to keep this one close.

Auburn vs Georgia Prediction: Georgia +7 (-110) available at time of publication. Can be played at +6.5.

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